Time to discuss healthy eating once again. I'll be the first to admit that I'm struggling this time around with my battle for weight loss. Everyone knows that losing weight requires two key elements: diet and exercise. Unfortunately, I'm having a difficult time sticking with both. Exercising after work sounds like no fun at all once I've sat through 45 minutes of bumper to bumper traffic and I know I have a million other things to accomplish that evening. This problem, though easier said than done, should be easy to solve. It's all about my own personal motivation. I just have to make myself "do it". I need to find that will that makes me crawl out of bed at 6 am to go for an early morning run or drive straight to the gym after work instead of going home with the intentions of working out that quickly fade into a thought of "I'll workout tomorrow instead..." Like I said, easier said than done.
Diet is the element of weight loss that I think requires much more planning and proactive commitment. It's much more difficult to stick with a diet when you're grabbing lunch on the go, fighting mid afternoon hunger pangs with a bag of Gardetto's from the vending machine (as I did yesterday) or eating out for dinner because you didn't have time to go to the grocery store that week. Being able to enjoy a healthy lunch, afternoon snack and dinner (assuming that each of these have been made in your own kitchen) is much more demanding than it sounds. It requires plenty of thinking ahead with menu planning, grocery shopping and food prep.
Of course it's always easier to prep tomorrow's breakfast and lunch the night before (that gives me at least 20 extra minutes to hit the snooze button), but I still don't want to spend hours in the kitchen, after a long day at work, slicing and dicing things to get into place for the next day. I want meals and snacks that can be made in a snap so that I can't give myself an excuse for not hitting the gym after work.
So I'm beginning a search for healthy quick fix foods that will keep me satisfied throughout the day. These Spicy Roasted Chickpeas are my lasted find, which I discovered via Pinterest. (Side note: are you on Pinterest? If you're not, you should be! It's definitely my new favorite way to waste time, but it's also fun and, I think, quite useful- especially for people like me who are constantly bookmarking or ripping pages out of magazines for things I want to remember or save for later). Anyways, these chickpeas are incredibly easy, require very little prep and almost no clean up. I get bored sitting in front of my computer all day at work, which makes me want to constantly snack. I don't feel guilty munching on these throughout the day though and the added bonus is that they're actually quite delicious and flavorful. So, healthy eating...? I'm getting there. Now, I just have to start hitting the gym.
Spicy Roasted Chickpeas
Recipe Adapted from Willow Bird Baking
Ingredients:
2, 15 oz cans low sodium garbanzo beans
3 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ancho chili powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
1. Drain garbanzo beans of their liquid and rinse under cold water in a colander. Lay out on paper towels to dry completely.
2. Preheat the oven to 400º F. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil. Spread the garbanzo beans out in a single layer on the foil. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes.
3. While the chickpeas are cooking, combine the chili powders, olive oil, lime juice, sea salt, cumin and cilantro in a small bowl and set aside. After the chickpeas are done cooking, let them cool for a minute, then pour them into a large Ziplock bag. Pour the oil mixture into the bag, seal and then shake to evenly coat the chickpeas.
4. Pour the chickpeas back onto the baking sheet and continue to bake for 10 minutes longer or until the chickpeas are really crunchy. Enjoy and store in an air tight container.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups